Personal Defense Device with Communication Capabilities

ABSTRACT

A personal defense device and method incorporating Bluetooth technology into a container with an irritant agent, such as pepper spray. The container is provided with Bluetooth-enabled wireless communication circuit that allows generation of an alarm signal every time pepper spray is dispensed. The alarm signal is capable of being received by a cellular telephone and capable of generating a predetermined responsive action by the cellular telephone, such as activation of a speakerphone, dialing of an emergency number, and activation of a global positioning system locator. A panic actuator is optionally provided on the container; the panic actuator is independently connected to the wireless communication circuit to generate the alarm signal even if the pepper spray is not dispensed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to personal defense devices, and, moreparticularly, to an apparatus for providing law enforcement and privatecitizens with a single device that integrates law enforcement tools andmechanisms for the application of capsaicinoids.

Capsaicinoids are a group of natural inflammatory products that areisolated from the dried fruits of chili peppers (e.g., Capsicumfrutescens) via extraction such as with an organic solvent.Capsaicinoids are lachrymatory agents (chemical compounds that canirritate the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even temporary blindness).The crude extract of peppers is called Oleoresin Capsicum (“OC”) andcontains a variety of chemicals including significant quantities of thecapsaicinoids.

OC and capsaicinoids are used as active components for the production ofself-defense articles known as non-lethal pepper spray products used bylaw enforcement and civilians. The capsaicin-containing products areused by law enforcement agencies worldwide to assist in the apprehensionof non-compliant suspects and in crowd control. The temporary blindnessallows officers to more easily restrain subjects. Members of the generalpublic also carry these products to help protect themselves againstaggressive attack by animals and other individuals, while giving anopportunity to persons using pepper spray for self-defense anopportunity to escape. Pepper spray causes immediate closing of theeyes, difficulty breathing, runny nose, and coughing. The duration ofits effects depends on the strength of the spray but the average fulleffect lasts around thirty to forty-five minutes, with diminishedeffects lasting for hours.

However, it is possible that the pepper spray will not produce thedesired result. For instance, the user may press the activation buttonwhen being at a too far distance from the assailant or the direction ofthe spray is off-target. In such a case it is entirely possible that theassailant will continue his/her aggressive acts. The victim's cries forhelp may not be heard or even if recognized by the public—not actedupon. As a result, no assistance will be rendered to the victim.

The most effective way of handling a dangerous assault situation is topromptly alert law enforcement authorities of an attack. Suchinformation can be delivered to the authorities using a cellulartelephone. However, it may be impractical to attempt to call authoritiesduring or after an assault. An assailant may snatch the cell phone fromthe victim, thus depriving the victim of the only opportunity to send analarm signal to the police. Another method is to include a “panicbutton” on a necklace or key ring in radio communication with atransceiver that is connected to a telephone or similar network. Thesedevices are compact, but have a very limited range.

The present invention contemplates provision of a device and method ofactivating an alarm signal that will be transmitted to a monitoringstation and from there—to a law enforcement agency even when the victimis attempting to prevent or stop the attack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apersonal defense device that is equipped with a signal transmittingcapability and incorporated in a conventional self-defense device, suchas pepper spray canister.

It is another object of the invention to provide a personal defensedevice with wireless communication capabilities compatible withconventional cell phone technology.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved through aprovision of a personal defense device that is provided with aBluetooth-enabled wireless communication circuit. The personal defensedevice is constructed as a rigid portable container retaining apre-determined quantity of a repellant agent, such as pepper spray. Amanually activated button causes dispensing of the repellant agentthrough a spray nozzle. The wireless communication circuit associatedwith the container is capable of generating an alarm signal capable ofbeing received by a Bluetooth-enabled paired cellular telephone.

The wireless communication circuit is capable of generating apredetermined responsive action by the cellular telephone, such asactivation of a speakerphone, dialing of an emergency number, andactivation of a global positioning system locator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts aredesignated by like numerals, and wherein

FIG. 1 is perspective view of the personal defense device of the presentinvention with a detail view of the activation switch.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, partially cutaway view of the device of thepresent invention and a schematic illustration of the wireless distresscall transmittal from the personal defense device to a cellulartelephone, and to a police station.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the personal defense device showing theelectronic circuitry embedded in the housing.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of an optional activation switch for use in thepersonal defense device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a micro switch, which activatestransmission of a distress signal to a cellular phone for speed dialingof an emergency number.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a micro switch, which activatestransmission of a distress signal to a cellular phone for speed dialingof an emergency number, activation of a speakerphone function andactivation of a global positioning system (GPS) function.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a micro switch “Panic button”),which activates transmission of a distress signal to a cellular phone.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral 10 designates aportable container or canister for retaining a pre-determined quantityof the capsaicin-containing agent according to this invention. In oneaspect of the invention, the canister 10 is a spray-dispensing devicecapable of emitting a fine mist of capsaicin-containing product admixedwith a marking agent, for instance glitter powder. The canister 10 canbe a pump or an aerosol-spraying device.

The canister 10 comprises a rigid hollow cylindrical body 12 with aclosed bottom 14 and an open top end 16. A depressible pump head 18 isfitted in the top open end 16. The pump head 18 is in fluidcommunication with the interior of the canister body 12, where aquantity of the irritant agent is stored. A dip tube (not shown) extendsinside the container body 12. The liquid irritant-containing agent isdrawn up through the dip tube for dispensing from the container 10.

An upper part 20 of the canister 10 is provided with an elongated cutout22. The pump head 18 extends into the upper part 20 below the cutout 22,while frictionally sliding moving within the canister body 12. The pumphead 18 sealingly engages the inner wall of the canister body 20 andprevents the liquid irritant agent from escaping the canister body 12.

A nozzle opening 24 is formed in the pump head 18. The nozzle opening 24is oriented toward the cutout 22. The nozzle opening 24 is in fluidcommunication with the interior of the canister body 12. When depressedby a finger, the pump head 18 bears against the interior wall of thecanister 10 and is displaced in a co-axial orientation with the centralaxis of the canister body 12. The pumping action causes pressuredifferential inside the canister body 12 and ejection of a smallquantity of pressurized irritant-containing liquid or repellant agentfrom the nozzle opening 24 toward a remote target. In one aspect of theinvention, the spray emitted from the nozzle opening 24 contains acapsaicinoids material.

Mounted in the pump head 18 is a depressible button 30 which is incontact with a top surface 26 of the pump head 18. The depressiblebutton 30 moves downwardly when the user presses on the top surface 26.The button 30 is operationally connected to a wireless communicationassembly 32 secured in the pump head 18. The wireless communicationassembly operates on a short-wave frequency radio band using Bluetoothtechnology or similar protocol. The Bluetooth technology is widely usedby Apple products, Microsoft platforms, Android phones, etc. A schematicexample of a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone is shown in FIG. 1 anddesignated by numeral 34.

Depressing the button 30 (when pressing on the pump head 18 to release apepper spray) causes an alarm signal to be created by the wirelesscommunication assembly 32. The generated alarm signal is transmitted tothe cellular phone 34. A suitable application downloaded into thecellular phone 34 enables the phone 34 to perform a variety offunctions. The phone 34 can turn on a speakerphone in a step 36, dial anemergency number (911) in a step 37, and initiate, in a step 38, the GPSapplication to pin point the location of the attack in progress. Thevictim of the attack can talk with a police station operator located ina remote police station 39 using the speakerphone of the cellular phone34.

When the user buys the personal defense device 10, the user first pairsthe device 10 with a Bluetooth-enabled phone 34. Optionally, the usercan download a third party application to extend the functionality ofthe device 10, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention using atactile (bump) switch 40 located below a pepper spray dispenser button42. In this embodiment, the personal defense device 46 is a containerhousing a discreet quantity of an irritant, such as a pepper spray. Thedevice 46 has a wireless communication circuit 48 built into a sidewallof the container. The communication circuit can be a Bluetooth-enabledcircuit capable of communicating with Bluetooth enabled cellular phone58 of the user.

The wireless communication circuit 48 is connected by suitable wiring tothe tactile switch 40. A rechargeable battery 50 is operationallyconnected to the wireless communication circuit 48. A recharging port 52is provided on the closed bottom wall 54 of the canister 46.

A dispensing opening 56 is formed in an upper part of the canister 46.When the user presses the irritant dispensing button 42 it presses onthe tactile switch 40 and closes the circuit of the tactile switch 40with the communication circuit 48. As a result, the alarm signalgenerated by the act of pepper spray activation will cause a response inthe cellular phone 58. The phone 58 can then perform any of thefunctions discussed above, such as activation of the speakerphone,dialing of 911, and GPS locating.

If desired, the device 46 can be provided with a suspension ring 60allowing the device 46 to be suspended from a belt, a purse strap, etc.of the user.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative activation switch for the personaldefense device. In this embodiment, the device is equipped with anoptional safety switch 62. In this embodiment, the device 46 is poweredon by first moving the safety switch 62 into an “on” position in thedirection of arrow 64. In this embodiment, the safety switch 62 preventsaccidental generation of an alarm signal through depressing of thepepper spray dispensing button and the activation switch.

After the user moves the safety switch 62, the user can then dispensethe irritant from the container 46 by pressing the switch 42 and alsoacting on the tactile switch 40. The wireless communicationfunctionality is then activated and the communication is establishedwith the phone 58. The alarm signal generated by the wirelesscommunication circuit 48 sends instructions to the phone 58 to dial thelocal emergency number, allowing the user to inform the authorities ofthe emergency.

FIG. 6 illustrates optional steps that can be performed in the method ofthe present invention. Some Bluetooth-enabled devices cannot nativelycontrol the phone functions of turning on the GPS or speakerphone. Toaccomplish this step, a third party application 68 needs to be installedon the paired cell phone 58. This application runs in the background,and upon receiving a signal generated by the communication circuit 48activates the speakerphone 70 and the GPS unit 72. It is envisioned thatan application be available for each target phone running on Appleoperating system, Android, Blackberry, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 7, still another optional element of the personaldefense device is illustrated. In this embodiment a panic actuator inthe form of a panic button 76 is provided on a container 78. The panicbutton is spaced apart from the trigger switches 80, 82. This embodimentmay be preferred when the irritant in the container 78 does notnecessarily have to be dispensed. For instance, if a user noticessuspected activity but is too far away from the reach of the repellantagent, the user may activate the panic button 76 by moving it upwardlyin the direction of arrow 84.

Moving of the panic button 76 activates the same functionality asactivation of the tactile switch 82 since both the panic button and thetactile switch 82 are operationally connected to the wirelesscommunication circuit 86. In this embodiment, the paired phone 88 willturn on the speakerphone 90 and start dialing the emergency number,which will connect the user to the police.

Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the container 78 can be providedwith a key ring 92 for suspending the container 78 from a key chain,belt, purse strap, and the like.

Many other changes and modifications can be made in the device andmethod of the present invention without departing from the spiritthereof. I, therefore, pray that my rights to the present invention belimited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A personal defense device, comprising: a rigid portablecontainer retaining a pre-determined quantity of a repellant agent; amanually activated means for dispensing the repellant agent mounted onthe container, said dispensing means comprising a spray nozzle; awireless communication circuit associated with the container, saidwireless communication circuit generating an alarm signal capable ofbeing received by a cellular telephone and capable of generating apredetermined responsive action by the cellular telephone, wherein thepredetermined responsive action is at least one of activation of aspeakerphone, dialing of an emergency number, and activation of a globalpositioning system locator.
 2. The device of claim 1, comprising anactivation switch operationally connected to the means for dispensingthe repellant agent.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the dispensingmeans comprises a depressible member movable in relation to a rigid wallof the container, the depressible member carrying the spray nozzle, andthe activation switch is operationally connected to the depressiblemember such movement of the depressible member causes activation of thewireless communication circuit through associated movement of theactivation switch.
 4. The device of claim 2, said activation switch is atactile switch.
 5. The device as of claim 1, wherein the alarm signal iscommunicated to the cellular telephone through a Bluetooth connection onthe cellular telephone and the wireless communication circuit.
 6. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the repellant agent is pepper spray.
 7. Thedevice of claim 1, said wireless communication circuit comprising abattery.
 8. The device of claim 7, said container being provided with arecharging port connected to the battery.
 9. The device of claim 1,comprising a safety switch operationally connected to the dispensingmeans.
 10. The device of claim 1, said container carrying a panicactuator a distance from the dispensing means, said panic actuator beingoperationally connected to the wireless communication circuit.
 11. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the panic actuator is capable of generatingan alarm signal through the wireless communication circuit independentlyfrom the dispensing means.
 12. A method of self-defending against anassailant, comprising the steps: providing a rigid portable container;depositing a pre-determined quantity of a repellant agent into thecontainer; providing a manually activated means for dispensing therepellant agent mounted on the container, wherein the repellant agentcontains a capsaicin-containing substance; providing a manuallyactivated means for dispensing the repellant agent mounted on thecontainer, said dispensing means comprising a spray nozzle; providing awireless communication circuit mounted on the container, said wirelesscommunication circuit generating an alarm signal capable of beingreceived by a cellular telephone and capable of generating apredetermined responsive action by the cellular telephone, wherein thepredetermined responsive action is at least one of activation of aspeakerphone, dialing of an emergency number, and activation of a globalpositioning system locator; providing a wireless communication circuitactivation switch on said container and operationally connecting thewireless communication circuit activation switch to the dispensing meanssuch that dispensing of the repellant agent causes an alarm signal to begenerated and transmitted to the cellular telephone.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, said activation switch is a tactile switch.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the alarm signal is communicated to the cellulartelephone through a Bluetooth connection on the cellular telephone andthe wireless communication circuit.
 15. The method of claim 12,comprising a step of providing a battery incorporated into the wirelesscommunication circuit.
 16. The method of claim 15, comprising a step ofproviding said container with a recharging port connected to thebattery.
 17. The method of claim 12, comprising a step of providing asafety switch operationally connected to the dispensing means which,upon being moved into position, allows communication between theactivation switch and the wireless communication circuit.
 18. The methodof claim 12, comprising a step of providing the container with a panicactuator a distance from the dispensing means, said panic actuator beingoperationally connected to the wireless communication circuit.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the panic actuator is capable of generatingan alarm signal through the wireless communication circuit independentlyfrom the dispensing means.